UX Videos and News

Everyone is talking about wearable devices, but in most cases it's hard to find a real value in those products. Nymi could change that. It's a simple idea that solves one of the fundamental problems about the internet: password based authentication. Let your heart do the work for you.

The video walks you through some of the different ux practices used by the Android team, from heuristic evaluation to RITE (Rapid Iterative Testing & Evaluation), cafe studies and pulse studies.
The RITE approach allows for multiple, rapid iterations even during the same day the test is run, while cafe studies are ideal to gather feedback from fresh eyes and are suitable even inside the same company.
Pulse studies can follow the same cadence as your sprints - can be 1 week from start to finish - and represent a fast and flexible way of running research in agile environments.

What role does design play in growing a business? How is it connected with innovation? This video from the British Design Council highlights the important role design plays in good business. Among the interviewees, you will find an unusual Jony Ive - Apple's SVP of Industrial Design - explaining that it is easy to design something different, but innovation requires a fundamentally different approach.

Gesture based interfaces look very attractive: they need a minimum amount of on-screen objects, often resulting in uncluttered interfaces.
The down side is that they are much harder to use in every day life than they look on presentation videos.

Frog Design collaborates with Sharp to deliver an innovative Android skin based on Ice Cream Sandwich, called feel_UX. The design extensively focused on the lock screen, that becomes more personal and interactive. Another big change is on the home screen, divided in 3 columns - apps, widgets and shortcuts - making it easier for novice users to find their way around the OS.
This series of Aquos smartphones will be available in Japan this Summer.

Mozilla tries to re-imagine browsing on the iPad with Junior, a prototype with a couple of interesting concepts. First of all, the interface gets rid of tabs: removing the chrome makes the browsing experience more immersive. Second, they introduce a couple of layered controls, for the back button and for other functions (like tab management).
The video is a little long and is not a polished product presentation, but is worth watching.
Mozilla's approach is obviously not the only attempt at building more immersive browsing experiences: Dolphin HD - among others - implements full screen browsing in a nice way, with gestures and spatial controls (swipe left and right to reveal interface elements).

The Ipad has been considered a consumption device since its launch in 2010, but things are slowing starting to change. New apps are redefining what can be done on a tablet - iPhoto being one of the best examples in this area. From a UX point of view, gestures are enabling a powerful paradigm shift.
One of the missing pieces is still a better typing experience. There is something promising on the horizon, as this video shows us how a simple tweak could greatly increase software keyboard usability.
The idea is simple: swiping with one or two fingers on the keyboard lets you move the cursor, consequently speeding up text editing. Combining this simple gesture with the shift key also improves the text selection experience.
This technique is known as the Hooper Selection, after the name of the Georgia Tech student who conceived it.
In a few weeks several implementations came to life and jailbreakers can try SwipeSelection on Cydia right now. I really think this is a better way of dealing with text on tablet devices and hope the feature will see the light in future versions of iOS.

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Touchscreens made us quickly forget the old plastic keyboards that plagued our phones until a few years ago. How long until we say goodbye to our mice? Innovation is back in the input controller industry.

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About UX Channel

UX Channel is all about good UX videos.
It's a curated stream covering multiple aspects of the conversation about User Experience. You can enjoy them whenever you have time. We designed the site so that it responds to the different context you find yourself in.
It works for your commute, with your mobile phone. It's perfect on your sofa, with your iPad airplaying the videos to your TV. And, of course, it works just as well on your old-school laptop or pc.